The Return of Steele
by Geeko170
Summary: Commandant Steele awakens after five years, and tries to reconstruct her life on Pandora.
1. Awakening

Awakening

The sun shined upon the golden fields of Ares, as a little, white haired, girl played in the tall stalks. She ran after the fluttering butterflies, and spring beetles. She loved chasing the insects in the spring. The little girl had just caught a grass hopper, when she heard her mother calling. She ran back to her house, a large ornate mansion. Her mother was waiting in their garden, wearing a beautiful white silk dress. Her smile was magical, and her eyes, shimmering emerald.

Steele opened her pale eyes and looked up at the white ceiling above her. Medical machines hung idle from it, and the room smelled of disinfectant. The steady beeping of a heart monitor filled the room. She tried to sit up, only to be stopped by a jolt of pain from her mid section. She looked down and saw her stomach heavily bandaged. She rested her head back on the table and looked out the wall window to her right. She was looking into the vastness of space, and she recognized several of the star formations.

As Steele was looking out the window, she heard a door open to her left. With out looking away from the window, she asked, "We are above Pandora, are we not?" A woman's voice replied, "Yes Madam. We are glad to see you finally awake." Steele let out a sigh as she looked towards to woman. "I did not spend twenty years in the Crimson Lance to be called madam. I am Commandant of D Company, 3rd Starborne Brigade and you will address me as such," she said with a hint of irritation. She closed her eyes and tried to relax again, but when the young girl was silent for longer than expected, she glanced at her visitor.

Her face was a mask of calmness, but Steele looked past it. She saw a hint of fear in the girls eyes, and something else. "Speak, child! It's apparent you have something on your tongue." The woman stiffened as she said, "Commandant Steele, the Crimson Lance is no longer in operation. After the closing of the Atlas..." The woman's voice caught in her throat, when Steele bolted from the table and stood in front of her. Steele stood head and shoulders above the woman, and her gaze was thick with anger. "Finish what you were saying," the Siren said.

The woman swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. "The Atlas corporation closed after the destruction of the Crimson Lance armory, Atlas withdrew from the planet and closed shortly after your death." The woman flinched when she saw tendrils of energy drifting up from the Sirens eyes. The swirling tattoos, that ran along her arm and torso, began to glow, and the bandages around her stomach burst into flames before they fell to the floor.

A ball of energy began to form in Steele's left hand as she glared at the young woman, her glowing gaze burning holes though her. "How long?" Steele asked through gritted teeth. The woman swallowed visibly. "Tell me!" Steele's voice was dripping with rage. The energy in her fist grew brighter. The woman's eyes grew wide form fear. "Five years, and six months. We were able to recover your brain, but your body had to be completely reconstructed. Luckily we acquired your medical records from the remnants of the Atlas corporation." Steele would have been impressed by the woman's emotional control, if she wasn't so enraged. She tried to take deep breaths, but something inside her wouldn't stop.

Steele let out a rage fueled roar, and hurled the ball of energy at the wall. The screeching sound of tearing metal filled the room, followed by hissing as the melted bulkhead cooled. While the liquified metal cooled, Steele took several deep breaths, until her heart slowed and her tattoos faded back to blue. She looked back to the woman, who's mask of calm was shattered as she starred at the gaping hole in the wall.

"I want a shuttle to the surface, and my clothes," Steele said as if nothing had happened. With a shaking hand, the woman pointed at a row of shelves on the other side of the room. Steele quickly dressed and braided her hair into four long strands. She stepped up to the woman and looked into her still shocked eyes. "Which way to the shuttle bay?"


	2. Return

The shuttle ride had taken less time than Steele had expected. She had programmed in a trajectory to take her to T-bone Junction, but the navigation systems malfunctioned and sent her plummeting towards Pandora. She crash landed in a town the computer called Lynchwood. When she opened the shuttle door she had crashed into someone's house, and was standing in their living room. The sound of hundreds of footsteps were coming from all around the building, and the floor above. Steele felt a smile form as several bandits stormed down the stairs, and through the front door.

The psychopaths, lunatics, and all around criminals paused when they saw the white haired woman. Most relaxed at the thought of a fun night, with something other than their hand, while a few were wary of the tattooed woman. After several seconds of silence, Steele yelled, "Come on then. I could use the exercise." Many of the bandits laughed at the woman, and one brave, and stupid, person yelled back, "Well I'll give you a real good workout, bitch." He thrust his crotch at her to emphasize his meaning, and the horde of criminals began laughing again. Steele cracked her neck and a sadistic smile grew on her face. "Very well. It's you funerals."

Lilith was chilli'n in Moxxi's bar, playing slots and flirting with the sexy bar owner. She had decided to take a break from the game of Bunkers and Badasses, the gang was playing with Tiny Tina, and came to the bar to relax. Moxxi had just brought her a beer. "Is Tina wearing you out, sugar?" the MILF said with a smile. Lilith took the mug and as she went to take a swig, her ECHO device buzzed at her.

She put the drink down with a sigh and answered her ECHO. "What is it, Maya?" There was a second of static, then Maya's voice came through. "Hey, Lilith, I just saw a Hyperion shuttle crash in Lynchwood. Wanna go check it out?" the Siren said enthusiastically. "Yea, I'm on my way. I'll meet you there." She stood from the small table she was sitting at and handed Moxxi back the mug, and said, "Save that for me," as she walked out of the room. As she stepped out of the bar she heard Moxxi yell back, "I'll save ya more that a beer, cutie." Lilith smiled all the way to the Dust.

Maya was laying on the roof of the Lynchwood train station when she heard foot steps behind her. Lilith crawled up beside her, and whispered, "What've we got?" Maya looked back down the street. "Six waves of bandits have gone down that street," she said pointing halfway down the main road of the town, "and two more came in from the caves. None have come back. Who ever's on that shuttle, they are the most badass badass of all badasses."

Lilith ran a few scenarios in her head, working out a plan. "Do you got the 'Bee'?" "Yea." "Okay, you go in by the bank. I'll swing around to the other end of town. You're the distraction, I'll see what has kicked the Rakk hive," Lilith said as the pair slid off the roof. They landed with a quiet thud and started to move towards their positions.

Maya pressed herself against the corner of the bank. She couldn't believe that the little shake was a bank. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she looked around the corner. The street was empty, and the air seemed motionless. She quickly sprinted up the street and ducked behind a stack of crates. She peeked over the crates, again the street was still. She heard the thudding of boots behind her and ducked into an alley, just as seven badass psychos ran past.

The Siren decided to move through the back alleys. As she ran through the alleys, she could hear the sounds of weapons fire, and it steadily grew louder. Maya could see bandits crowding the streets, and their shouting was nearly deafening. A ladder was on one of the building, and Maya, quickly, climbed it and looked over the crowd below her. The bandits were all moving towards a, mostly destroyed, building. The nose of a Hyperion shuttle was sticking through the back wall, and the sound of gunfire and screams were pouring out of the building. Her ECHO beeped and Lilith's came through as a whisper. " Change of plans, Maya. I'm the distraction. Go on my signal." Before the siren could ask, the crowd of bandits exploded in a giant fireball.

In the middle of the burned, and bloodied, bodies, Lilith stood in her flaming magnificence. Her tattoos and wings were glowing a fierce orange as she looked over the crowd of surviving bandits. After the shock of her explosive entry wore off, an uproar swept through the crowd. "It's the Firehawk! Get her!" With a playful smile, Lilith sprinted off through Lynchwood, leading a majority of the horde away. The few that remained didn't stand a chance against Maya. Her shotgun, paired with the 'Bee' shield, made easy work of turning them into pulpy stains on the ground. She holstered her weapon as she approached the partly destroyed house.

Maya could still hear the sounds of fighting coming from the building, but she could tell it was no threat to her. Just as she reached for the door, a bandit crashed through the door, nearly hitting her as he flew past. As she looked over his body, the rib cage had been caved in and his arms were bent at disturbing angles. She looked back towards the door. It was quiet now, only the distant sound of the horde chasing Lilith filled the air. As she stepped through the door, her eyes adjusted quickly. Bandits littered the room, many with broken or missing limbs. In the center of the room stood a white haired woman holding a psycho aloft by his throat.

The woman calmly looked her over. "You must be Maya. One moment please, and we can talk," the woman said with an icy tone. She looked back her captive and, effortlessly, snapped his neck. She tossed the body across the room, like a toy. As the woman turned towards her, Lilith came walking through the door. She was grinning ear to ear. "Maya, you'll never believe what... The fuck!" she said, changing mid sentence. "Ah, Lilith, it's been quite some time since we last saw one another."


End file.
